A female arsonist has been jailed again for arson months after being released for arson

An arsonist who was jailed last year for an attack in Peterborough has been put behind bars again after she struck just months after her release.

Jenny Towell, 38, set fire to a wheelie bin outside a property next door to her own accommodation in Park Road, Peterborough, on the evening of November 22 last year.

Investigating officers viewed footage from CCTV cameras that had been put up by police following a number of other arsons in the area.

It showed Towell leaving her property, walking up the driveway of the next door address and setting the bin alight. She then checked the fire had taken hold before returning to her own home.

The alarm was raised by a man living in the same property as Towell who asked to borrow her mobile phone to call the fire service.

Towell, who had been jailed for 12 months in April last year for starting a fire at a home in Swale Avenue, Peterborough, was arrested and questioned by officers but refused to accept responsibility for the fire, even though she admitted it was her in the CCTV footage.

However, she later entered a guilty plea to a charge of arson with intent/reckless as to whether life was endangered and wasÂ jailed for 20 monthsÂ today (February 19) at Peterborough Crown Court.

Detective Constable Steve Ward, who investigated, said: “This fire could have spread to the property but was thankfully seen early. Towell has clearly not learned her lesson after being jailed for the Swale Avenue arson.

“Arson is potentially lethal and is treated very seriously by ourselves, the courts and the fire service.â€

Towell was previously jailed on April 15 at Peterborough Crown Court after pleading guilty to arson with intent/recklessÂ as to whether life was endangered.

She had put burning paper through a door in Swale Avenue on November 8, 2013.